Pear tree named ‘P448-2’

ABSTRACT

A variety of pear tree having a high productivity, tolerance to fireblight, consistently large fruit that ripens early, and fruit having a pleasant, juicy flavor.

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Pyruscommunis.

Variety denomination: ‘P448-2’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of pear treenamed ‘P448-2’. My new tree resulted from a planned hybridizationprogram and is a selection from crossing US386 (unpatented pear tree),as the seed parent and NJ 3 (unpatented pear tree released as ‘Star’ in1968) as the pollen parent. The resulting tree was selected when growingin a cultivated area in Vincennes, Ind.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The ‘P448-2’ variety is distinguished from other pear varieties due tothe following unique combination of characteristics: high fruitproductivity; consistent large fruit size; fruit which is juicy and hasa pleasant flavor, even when crisp; fruit which ripens on the tree; andfruit which ripens early, observed to ripen in some years during thesecond week of August when grown in Vincennes, Ind.; and tolerance tofireblight.

NJ 3: Fruit size is above medium, pyriform, skin light green, fleshwhite, juicy, fine-grained but not buttery, quality good but internalbreakdown observed in some seasons, ripens early (mid-August). Lowresistance to fireblight.

US 386: Fruit size is medium, pyriform to ovate-pyriform, flesh creamywhite to white, moderately juicy, moderately gritty, sweet to acidic butonly fair quality, no aroma, none to light core breakdown, ripens early;(mid-August). Substantial resistance to fireblight.

Asexual reproduction of this new variety by budding and grafting ontoBartlett pear seedling (unpatented) rootstock shows that the foregoingcharacteristics come true to form, are firmly fixed and are establishedand transmitted through succeeding propagations. Asexual propagation of‘P448-2’ was carried out at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. andin New Salisbury, Ind.

The original tree and progeny have been observed growing in Vincennes,Ind. Certain characteristics of this variety, such as growth and color,may change with changing environmental conditions (e.g., light,temperature, moisture, nutrient availability, or other factors). Colordescriptions and other terminology are used in accordance with theirordinary dictionary descriptions, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. Color designations are made with reference to The RoyalHorticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying illustration shows typical fruit and leaf specimens ofthis new pear variety.

The colors of an illustration of this type may vary with lightingconditions and, therefore, color characteristics of this new varietyshould be determined with reference to the observations describedherein, rather than from this illustration alone.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the ‘P448-2’ variety is based onobservations of asexually reproduced progeny. The observed progeny weretrees which were about eleven years old growing on Bartlett pearseedling rootstock in Vincennes, Ind.

Scientific name: Pyrus commmunis ‘P448-2’.

Parentage:

Seed parent.—‘US 386’ (unpatented), which resulted from a cross between‘Mich US 437’ (unpatented) and ‘Re Carlos di Wurtemb’ (unpatented).

Pollen parent.—‘NJ 3’ (unpatented), which resulted from a cross between‘Beierschmidt’ (unpatented) and ‘NJ 1’ (unpatented).

Tree:

Vigor.—Moderate, but more vigorous than the ‘Honeysweet’ variety (U.S.Plant Pat. No. 4,379).

Overall shape.—Upright, spreading.

Height.—From about 14 to about 16 feet.

Width.—Overall spread of about 12 feet.

Caliper.—About 6 inches at about 4 inches above ground.

Trunk.—Slender to moderately stocky; stockier than ‘Honeysweet,’ butless stocky than ‘Magness’ (unpatented).

Trunk bark texture.—Scaly to slightly rough.

Trunk bark color.—Grey-brown (RHS 199A), not distinguished by patches orother markings.

Primary branches.—Upright growth habit, emerging from the trunk at about30 to 40 degrees, with the angle of emergence increasing toward the topof the tree; no included bark has been observed to date; non-pubescent.

Branch color.—Both one-year old and two-year old branches aregrey-orange (RHS 165B).

Branch lenticels.—Sparse, with a density of about 80 per square inch;oval and about 0.020 to 0.035 inch in size; grey-white (RHS 156D) incolor.

Internodes.—Average internode length is 0.75 to 1.25 inches on aone-year old shoot.

Hardiness.—Zone 5.

Disease resistance.—Tolerant to fireblight, similar to the ‘Honeysweet’variety; sensitive to Psylla species.

Leaves:

Texture.—Smooth, leathery.

Sheen.—Shiny.

Length.—About 2.6 inches to about 3.6 inches, averaging about 2.9inches.

Width.—About 1.7 inches to about 2.1 inches, averaging about 1.9 inches.

Thickness.—About 0.003 inch to about 0.010 inch, averaging about 0.006inch.

Petiole.—About 1.60 inches long, with a diameter of about 2.053 inches;yellow-green (RHS 153B) in color.

Margin.—Smooth to finely serrate.

Tip shape.—Acuminate.

Stipules.—Two in number with opposite arrangement; needle-shaped; about0.066 inch in diameter; yellow-green (RHS 145A) in color.

Leaf color.—Upper leaf surface: green (RHS 137B). Lower leaf surface:grey-green (RHS 194A). Vein: yellow-green (RHS 154B).

Pubescence.—None.

 The above length, width, thickness and other measurements were takenfrom observation of ten typical leaves in October of 2001.

Flowers:

Shape.—Oval.

Size.—Medium, approximately 29 mm in diameter.

Color.—Unopened bud: white (RHS 155D). Opened flower: white (RHS 155D).

Petals.—Five petals per flower and barely touching one another.

Stamen.—Twenty stamens per flower, about 4 to 5 mm long, and white incolor.

Arrangement.—Single row.

Anthers.—General color red-purple; (RHS N74D).

Pistil.—Stigma: About 4-5 mm long. Styles: Five in number, fused atbase; yellow-green (RHS 154A) in color.

Sepals.—About 3 mm long and about 3 mm wide; recurved; yellow-green (RHS154A) in color; pubescent.

Pollen.—Yellow.

Fragrance.—Foul.

Time of flower opening.—Flower opening in 2001 in West Lafayette, Ind.was about April 17 and bloom peaked at April 23.

Fruit (observations from a limited number of fruit in August of 2001):

Size.—Large, typical fruit about 3.00 inches long and about 2.8 incheswide at the widest point.

Shape.—Oblong to ovate and symmetrical, with a typical length todiameter ratio of about 1.2; no ribbing or lobes on the calyx end of thefruit.

Cavity.—None.

Basin.—Shallow, about 0.2 inches deep and 0.76 inch wide; no pubescence.

Stem.—Long and stout; typically about 1.54 inches long and 0.14 inchesin diameter; grey-orange (RHS 165A) in color.

Locules.—Five in number, closed, medium in size, and seeds are free fromthe carpel wall at maturity.

Skin.—Thin, fine, and russeted, with a moderately shiny finish and notendency to become waxy or oily in storage.

Lenticels.—Inconspicuous; about 100 per square inch.

Color.—Yellow-green (RHS 145A) to green-yellow (RHS 1B). Overcolor:none. Russetting: some russetting present, predominantly at base.

Fruit characteristics (based upon five fruits tested on about Aug. 2,2001 ).—Acid content: hard fruit has about 0.232 g/100 ml malic acid,while soft fruit has 0.250 g/100 ml malic acid. Firmness: about 5.7 to8.2 kg, averaging about 7.3 kg. Soluble solids: about 11.0 to 11.8%,averaging about 11.45%. Starch index: on a scale of 1 (high starch) to10 (low starch), range from 7 to 9, average 7.4. Flavor: Mild, sweet.Juiciness: moderate. Flesh color: yellow-white (RHS 158C). Aroma:slight.

Core.—Bundle area shape is basal, meeting, median; about 1.3 inches longand about 1.2 inches wide; calyx tube is closed and about 0.1 incheslong; core lines are weakly defined.

Seed.—Typically 1 to 2 per cell; shape is acute at tip and round atbase; about 0.33 inches long and 0.22 inches wide. Color isgreyed-orange (RHS 166A).

Fruit production.—First picking date in 2001 was about August 6, andlast picking date was about August 12; average production is 300 lbs. offruit per tree.

Storage.—Fruit can be kept at room temperature for about one week andcan be kept in cold storage (34° F.) for about two months.

Usage.—Eating, can be consumed crisp or soft.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of pear tree, substantially asherein shown and described.